Bab 11: Separation

Orange continued to purr as Yu Feng stroked his head. He closed his eyes in bliss and soon moved to rest his head on Yu Feng's laps, his favorite spot on his favorite human.

"Orange, you have to stay well," Yu Feng spoke softly. "After a few days, I will come over and pick you up, alright?"

The orange fluff ball meowed, then stayed quiet.

Tears threatened to fall on her cheek, but Yu Feng gritted her teeth hard and forced herself to calm down.

Yu Feng heaved a long sigh as her eyes moved to study her surroundings. She was allowed to see Orange and spent her time with her cat for a few hours before she was going to be taken away. However, her capture was worried that she was going to escape and thus, had let a few guards stay around the tent as well.

A deep frown appeared on her face as Yu Feng began to think of her fate.

She was caught by the authorities who wanted her to become a messenger, especially during the Lantern Festival. Although her capture had promised to release her once she did her job, Yu Feng did not have the confidence that they were going to release her afterward. After all, that man had gone back on his words once and there was no telling that he was going to do it again.

That man had given her his identification tag as a token of his promise, but as long as she could not escape this place, having that tag in her hand was practically useless.

Yu Feng was able to guess that the person who caught her was someone with a high position. Even if she brought it over to the magistrate, would they dare to entertain her?

In other words, right now, Yu Feng had no other choice but to work for the man, whether he was going to keep his promise or not. Even if she had thought of causing trouble for that man during her task later, she was well aware that she was someone who was not qualified to take any action. As long as Orange was in this man's hand, Yu Feng had no other choice but to be obedient.

This was the difference between those who had power and those who had nothing. Those who were power will forever be on top and people like her will have no other choice but to succumb to their weaknesses.

At this time, Yu Feng could feel her hatred towards the government and the nobles increased to another level.

Heavy footsteps were heard coming from outside the door. Yu Feng continued to stroke Orange's head and pretended that she did not hear anything.

Pei Yan entered the tent and his eyes stopped at the orange tabby cat on Yu Feng's laps. "It's time."

Yu Feng turned around angrily and her eyes narrowed when she saw the cage in the man's hand. Her heart ached to know that they were going to keep Orange in that small space.

Orange was a street cat and he was used to walking around freely. To confine him into that small space… wasn't that torturing for Orange?

Pei Yan did not say a thing and hurriedly went to Yu Feng's side to take the cat from her and shoved him into the cage. Although he thought that Yu Feng was pitiful, he was someone who had to do his task when he had his order.

Prince Yi had instructed him to retrieve the cat and let Yu Feng followed Officer Zhou Ming and he had no other choice but to follow the order.

Orange hissed as Pei Yan handled him roughly. Then, he looked at Yu Feng with pitiful eyes and meowed.

"I will look after your cat," Pei Yan spoke after a long hesitation.

Hearing his words, Yu Feng closed her eyes and looked away. She was worried that she was going to lose her temper soon and would launch an attack against the man clad in black.

The tent curtains rustled and Yu Feng was able to hear Orange's meow getting further away. She was left in the tent with the guards keeping their eyes on her and this situation made her felt as if she was a prisoner.

She was not aware of how long she was left alone, but Yu Feng finally opened her eyes when her nose caught the smell of food.

Officer Zhou dragged a table and in front of her and proceeded to arrange some food while maintaining his eye contact with Yu Feng. Once everything was done, he placed a bowl of rice in front of Yu Feng and handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Eat."

Yu Feng glanced at the food on the table. She opened her mouth to tell him that she was not hungry, but before the words escaped her lips, her stomach rumbled, betraying her.

"Don't tell me you're not hungry," Officer Zhou raised a brow. "Young boy, it's not good to continuously being stubborn like this. If you're hungry, then just eat. What? Are you afraid that I was going to poison you?"

Yu Feng gritted her teeth as she snatched the chopstick. "I dare you to poison me. You need me. What's the use if I am dead?" She sneered, then clipped at a piece of chicken and chewed at them angrily.

Officer Zhou breathed with relief upon seeing that Yu Feng began to eat. Earlier, Prince Yi had instructed him to let Yu Feng eat something before he can bring her back to the bureau and briefed her on their situation.

Running was going to require a lot of stamina. In a few days, Yu Feng was going to get really busy. Since she was going to be the key to their mission, they could not let her go on on an empty stomach.

Yu Feng began to cough wildly as some of the food got stuck in her throat.

"Eat slowly! What's the rush? No one is going to steal those foods away from you," Officer Zhou nagged. He poured some water for Yu Feng and watched as she drank it slowly. Seeing the fierce look that Yu Feng was giving him, Officer Zhou let out a snicker. "What are you looking at me for?"

Yu Feng looked away from that man and continued to eat her meal. This time, she ate them slowly and began to savor the taste of the food. After a while, her movement paused and Yu Feng stared at a plate of braised ribs in a daze.

Years ago, this was a dish that she loved to eat… Yu Feng felt a hard tug in her heart at the thought of the last time she had eaten a meal such as this. The table was full of food and the room was filled with chattering and laughing voices…

"I asked you to eat slowly, but not that slow," Officer Zhou said with a long sigh.

Yu Feng snapped out of her thoughts and continued to chew the food inside her mouth. "Officer Zhou, you nag too much." Her cheeks were bulging with food.

"Stop talking and eat a little bit more. You're too thin." Officer Zhou sat down and continued to watch as she ate. Seeing that she had started to pick up her speed, he then let out another sigh. "Little brat, don't worry about your cat. I can assure you that he will be well taken care of. You just need to help us this one time and we will release both you and your cat."

"I don't trust your words."

Officer Zhou laughed at her words and shook his head helplessly. Though he wished to console her a little bit, he too was helpless with the situation. The prince had made his decision and there was nothing that they can do to change his mind.

"Once you finished eating, I will take you to the bureau," Officer Zhou smiled. "Since you are someone with no identification, I will help you to create one. Later, I will brief you on what you are supposed to do."